Hand trucks, dollies, or load carts are devices with varying designs generally configured to carry loads from one point to another, and have long been used in a wide variety of settings.
With some designs, the hand truck may be positioned by a user in an upright manner in order to place a load on a frame or platform; the user may then tilt the hand truck at an angle with respect to a surface and push or pull the hand truck to move the load to a desired location. With other designs, a user may place a load on a lateral or planar frame parallel to the ground in order to simply push or pull the hand truck to the desired destination without requiring the user to tilt the device.
A common problem faced by users of prior art designs is the variability of loads a user may encounter during a particular job or task that requires the use of a device such as a hand truck. For example, if moving loads in a warehouse setting, one particular load may be of one size while other loads may be of larger or smaller sizes. Sometimes loads are heavier and require a higher load-bearing support despite the load taking up a relatively small volume, while other times a load may be particularly bulky and thus require a wider or larger support.
The prior art has provided several solutions, but these are inadequate. For example, prior art mechanisms that expand to provide a means for carrying a bulkier load, expand in a manner that still require the user to carry much of the weight—especially expandable designs that are based on had trucks requiring a tilting motion. Other designs that may be suitable for variable load weights are typically clunky, and rather complex. Although some prior art designs include expandable frames, those designs are fairly elaborate and require many moving parts, probably because these are mostly designed for railway transportation or similar industrial applications, which likely make such products unnecessarily expensive and impractical for a regular consumer that is looking to move their furniture, or a warehouse employee setting out to move inventory within the warehouse.
Accordingly, there is an unanticipated need for a load-bearing assembly for moving heavy or bulky loads that includes a frame or chassis with expandable supports that adjust to different lengths for accommodating different sized loads, and which is relatively lightweight, inexpensive, and easily adjustable.
Therefore, there are several problems with the current state of the art, which have not been adequately addressed. The problems persist because a need to provide an efficient, cost-effective load-bearing adjustable assembly has not been adequately met. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.